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Paralympic runners won Dutch event preparing for Berlin Grand Prix this weekend

Paralympic runners won Dutch event preparing for Berlin Grand Prix this weekend

Namibian paralympians, Ananias Shikongo and Johannes Nambala, together with Shikongo’s guide runner, Even Tjiviju and Nambala’s coach, Michael Hamukwaya, have just spent a week in Enschede in the Netherlands in preparation for the Para-Athletics Grand Prix in Berlin, Germany.

In the Netherlands, Shikongo, Nambala and Tjiviju trained at the Olympic training centre at Papendal and the Trifora High Performance Centre. This was made possible with the help and support of Dutch sport promoter, Elisa Ostet whom the National Paralympic Committee of Namibia met during their preparations for the Road to Tokyo 2020.

At the end of the week-long training session the Namibian paralympians competed in an athletics event at FBK sport club where Shikongo won the 100 metre in 11:51 and Nambala the 400 metre in 50:64. Running on his own, Tjiviju also won a 100 metre race in 11:13.

For the 3-day German Grand Prix starting on Saturday 30 June, the two paralympians will be joined by the rest of the Namibian team comprising seven young athletes who will compete for the first time. At the Berlin event, they will also get their international classification in preparation for major competitions in Kenya and Qatar in 2019, all with a view to compete in the 2020 Paralympic games in Tokyo.

Secretary General and Head Coach of the Namibian Paralympian team, Michael Hamukwaya said the training in the Netherlands was excellent preparation for the Berlin Grand Prix. “Definitely the athletes are ready to do their best and improve where possible as they are aware of the task ahead to perform optimally at the IPC athletic Grand Prix. A combination of a new team will be good for team Namibia as these young athletes will be given an opportunity to graduate to the elite team,” he said.


 

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Mandisa Rasmeni

Mandisa Rasmeni has worked as reporter at the Economist for the past five years, first on the entertainment beat but now focussing more on community, social and health reporting. She is a born writer and she believes education is the greatest equalizer. She received her degree in Journalism at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) in June 2021. . She is the epitome of perseverance, having started as the newspaper's receptionist in 2013.